Play "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?"

This browser cannot play the embedded audio file.

About This Song

Words: E.Y. Harburg/Jay Gorney (1932)

This was recorded by Leo Reisman and his Orchestra, October 5, 1932 at Victor Studio.

"By any yardstick, this is one of the epic moments in American popular song. Written for a revue, Americana, it became the Depression's unofficial theme song. It was also the first big hit for lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, who created an "everyman" to personify the sacrifice of the First World War, the dreams of the Twenties, and the desolation that followed. Harburg later said that his man "had built his faith and hope in this country. Then came the crash. He can't accept the fact that the bubble has burst. He still believes. He still has faith. He just can't understand what could have happened to make everything go wrong." In place of the quiet despair that Bing Crosby bought to the song, Leo Reisman's Irish tenor, Milton Douglas, bursts with indignation."

Leo Reisman and His Orchestra :: Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

They used to tell me I was building a dream and so I followed the mob

When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always right there on the job

They used to tell me I was building a dream with peace and glory ahead